Archive for 2015

I applaud Governor Shumlin’s proposed enhancements to the child welfare system in Vermont.
Of particular interest to me, as a member of the Judicial Nominating Committee and Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, is the proposed addition of a Superior Court Judge, which will help to mitigate the pressures of high caseloads in the state. ...

Below please find some information and statistics on the Vermont refugee placement and resettlement process. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Annually the Vermont office receives 300-350 refugees.
FY15: 314
FY16 PROJECTION: 325
The center has seen families come in from all over the world – the Congo, Malaysia, India, Iraq, Somalia, and Nepal.
Employment ...

Vermont and the US have a history of admitting those fleeing from horrific circumstances. We should continue to take Syrian refugees who are vetted under our current extensive process. It is estimated that children constitute half of the millions of Syrian refugees. Humanitarian efforts are critical to help refugees who are often victims of rape, famine ...

I serve on the Justice Oversight Committee. We heard very compelling testimony on how critical a school’s response to student behavior is in facilitating a student’s ability to learn and succeed in school, the workplace, and society. I applaud our schools, civil rights advocates and Sec. of Education Rebecca Holcombe for beginning to bend the ...

I hope you are enjoying your summer. Here is the final legislative update for this session.
I will continue to update you on my work. A few highlights: I serve on the Judicial Nominating Board, Corrections and Justice System oversight Committee and continue to address issues you raise.
I am thrilled to say that the Executive Director ...

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you. It is an honor to serve as Chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee. This is the first of a series of updates summarizing the Legislature’s work. Here, I will focus on my committee work. The Legislature made considerable progress in enhancing community safety while protecting ...

House Action
S.9 Child Protection:
The House Passed S.9. The bill is a result of a legislative committee that met last summer and fall to investigate Vermont’s child protection system after the deaths of two toddlers who had been in contact with the Department for Children and Families. It passed the Senate last month.
My committee, House ...

This past week we debated S.141 an act relating to firearms. It came from the Senate to my committee.
Some argued that we don’t have a gun violence issue in Vermont. The testimony I heard was very compelling that in fact we do. The facts about gun deaths in Vermont reveal a disturbing fact: Vermont has ...

This week my committee will be primarily focused on S.141 An Act Relating to Possession of Firearms. We will be working from the bill as it passed the Senate, not as it was introduced. The bill as passed is much narrower and does not include the most controversial section regarding background checks. Below is a ...

Vermont high school juniors and seniors may qualify to take the SAT test for free and have application fees waived for any of the Vermont State Colleges.
The deadline to register for the May 6th SAT testing date is Monday April 6th, and the deadline to register for the June 6th testing date is May 8th. ...